da dobrowin： Kompany will make his Premier League coaching debut against City on Friday, and is on a long list of the Catalan's disciples

da bet sport： Vincent Kompany has propelled Burnley back to the Premier League while giving the infamously industrious side a footballing makeover. The Belgian will make his coaching bow in the top-flight against his beloved former club Manchester City on Friday, and for the second time will come face-to-face on the sidelines with Pep Guardiola, who had a huge influence on his footballing outlook.

The former City captain, however, is far from being Guardiola's only former colleague to make a success of management. Rather like his old mentor Johan Cruyff, the Catalan has inspired a number of his former players to move into coaching after hanging up their boots.

GOAL takes a look at the former pupils of Guardiola who have proved a roaring success as coaches, and some who have struggled in the transition from playing to managing…

GettyMikel Arteta: The assistant who became a rival

Mikel Arteta never played under or alongside Guardiola, but the former Barcelona boss sensed he had an eye for coaching and hired him as one of his three assistants when he took over at City in 2016. Guardiola valued Arteta's inside knowledge of the Premier League and said his wisdom made him a better coach.

Many believed Guardiola was moulding Arteta as his successor at City, but his assistant could not resist the offer to take over at Arsenal, where he had ended his playing career. And what a move it has proved to be, with Arteta turning the Gunners from a basket case into genuine Premier League title contenders.

Guardiola ultimately won his first true battle with his former pupil as City overhauled Arsenal in 2022-23, but Arteta is determined to come back stronger this season. He has been heavily backed in the transfer market, spending over £200 million to help his side take the next step and swipe the Premier League crown out of Guardiola's hands.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesVincent Kompany: 'Written in the stars'

Kompany spent a memorable 11 years with City, helping their rise from the 'Noisy Neighbours' of Manchester United into the top team not just in the city, but the country. He hoisted four Premier League titles as City captain as well as winning two FA Cups and four League Cups. He even has a statue outside the ground.

But Kompany has been unsentimental about City since becoming Burnley coach and his first season in charge of the Clarets could hardly have gone better. His side took the Championship by storm and they swept to the title, clinching promotion in early April with seven games to spare, a record since the division was rebranded in 2004.

Kompany has also overseen a radically different style of play than the one Burnley became renowned for under Sean Dyche, and Guardiola has declared that his former charge will one day succeed him as City manager. "He will be back sooner or later. His destiny to be Man City boss is written in the stars," Guardiola said last season before facing Burnley in the FA Cup. The Cityzens crushed the Clarets 6-0, but Friday's clash at Turf Moor should be a closer run affair.

(C)Getty ImagesXavi: Steering Barca back to glory

Xavi was Guardiola's eyes and ears on the pitch during his four glorious years in charge of Barcelona and had long been tipped to follow his footsteps towards the Camp Nou dugout.

After seeing out his playing career in Qatar, where Guardiola also spent time, Xavi transitioned to coach with Doha side Al-Sadd before finally taking charge at Barca in 2021 when Ronald Koeman was sacked.

Xavi's time back with his boyhood club has not been perfect and has witnessed four disappointing European exits, but in his first full season he led the Catalans to their first La Liga title in four years, finishing 10 points ahead of Real Madrid. Barca also beat Madrid 3-1 to win the Spanish Super Cup in January.

The current Barca side's style is rather different from the positional play Guardiola perfected in Catalunya, when Xavi was pulling the strings, and last season they grew accustomed to winning many matches 1-0. Indeed, they often played ultra-defensive football, the type which the midfielder used to sneer at, drawing unwanted comparisons with Jose Mourinho.

Getty ImagesErik ten Hag: 'Mini Pep' becomes local nemesis

When Guardiola and Erik ten Hag would coach their respective Bayern Munich teams on the same training ground and have lengthy tactical chats, who could have imagined that a decade on they would be sworn enemies as the figureheads of the two Manchester clubs?

Ten Hag was already a promising young coach in 2013 after guiding Go Ahead Eagles to promotion to the Eredivisie, but he swapped a season in the Dutch top-flight to work in Germany's regional league with Bayern's reserve team. Ten Hag spent two years as Guardiola's contemporary, and his current assistant manager Steve McLaren revealed the Dutchman assumed the Catalan's philosophy, revealing that Bayern's staff referred to him as 'Mini Pep'.

When Ten Hag's Ajax were taking the Champions League by storm in 2019, Guardiola said of his old contemporary: "He is a top-class manager and his teams are a joy to watch." In 2022, he encouraged United to hire him and he may have regretted that advice, as the Dutchman has transformed the Red Devils' fortunes and rekindled the rivalry between the two clubs.

Guardiola may have beaten his old contemporary in last season's FA Cup final and won the treble, but he can expect a bigger title challenge from United in the coming campaign after they made some eye-catching signings.